Chapter - 7 OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY

Democracy is better because it:

• Promotes equality among citizens;
• Enhances the dignity of the individual;
• Improves the quality of decision-making;
• Provides a method to resolve conflicts; and
• Allows room to correct mistakes.

• Democratic government takes more time to follow procedures before arriving at a decision. But because it has followed procedures, its decisions may be both more acceptable to the people and more effective. So, the cost of time that democracy pays is perhaps worth it.
• Democracy ensures that decision making will be based on norms and procedures. So, a citizen who wants to know if a decision was taken through the correct procedures can find this out. She has the right and the means to examine the process of decision making. This is known as transparency. This factor is often missing from a non-democratic government.
• Democracies have had greater success in setting up regular and free elections and in setting up conditions for open public debate.
• Democratic government is legitimate government. It may be slow, less efficient, not always very responsive or clean. But a democratic government is people’s own government. That is why there is an overwhelming support for the idea of democracy all over the world.

Economic development depends on several factors

• country’s population size,
• global situation,
• cooperation from other countries, economic priorities adopted by the country,

Democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.

Accommodation of social diversity

• It is necessary to understand that democracy is not simply rule by majority opinion. The majority always needs to work with the minority so that governments function to represent the general view. Majority and minority opinions are not permanent.
• It is also necessary that rule by majority does not become rule by majority community in terms of religion or race or linguistic group, etc. Rule by majority means that in case of every decision or in case of every election, different persons and groups may and can form a majority. Democracy remains democracy only as long as every citizen has a chance of being in majority at some point of time.

Dignity and freedom of the citizens

• Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting dignity and freedom of the individual.
• Once the principle of giving women respect is recognised, it becomes easier for women to wage a struggle against what is now unacceptable legally and morally.
• Democracy in India has strengthened the claims of the disadvantaged and discriminated castes for equal status and equal opportunity.
• As people get some benefits of democracy, they ask for more and want to make democracy even better.